With Eyes of Blue
by HotaruGFC
Summary: A little joy at the end of a long day. Someone has a surprise for Seto Kaiba.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a long day and I was exhausted when I walked through the door. All I wanted to do was sleep—a rarity in and of itself. But she greeted me with her shining blue eyes and her smile full of wonder and delight. It was infectious, and I found myself grinning back at her despite the weariness in my bones. She had something hidden behind her back as she ran up to me. She rocked on her tiptoes in front of me, beckoning me to kneel down to her level.

As I crouched in front of her, she pulled out a fistful of the red flowers that were blooming along the driveway to the house. Her fingernails were grimy with dirt, a sign that she had picked them herself. I wondered at how she had managed to avoid soiling her white uniform in the process as I took the bouquet from her. She took my cheeks in her hands and pulled my face toward her so that our noses touched. Her pale hair tickled my cheek as she then wrapped her arms around my neck. I scooped her up in one arm, relishing the fact that she was still small enough for me to do so, and carried her into the kitchen. She giggled joyously as she bounced in my arms, squirming to get down and run herself.

I let her go as we reached the door and she streaked off through the busy room, narrowly avoiding the cooks that were hard at work. Her moonlight ponytail rippled behind her like a pennant in the wind as she ran out into the garden behind the kitchen. I loosened my tie as I wove my own way through the hustle to follow her, nodding to the chef as I passed.

She danced through the flowers and chased after some late summer butterflies. Her face was flushed with joy. She picked another flower and handed it to me before dancing away again. A black cat scampered across her path and she immediately followed it as it darted through the rows of vegetables. It slithered through a hole in the fence that was too small for her tiny form. She walked back pouting and covered in dirt. I could not help but chuckle as she looked up at me.

"Daddy, she got away." Her voice sounded pitiful, pathetic, and I could not help but be moved. I crouched down before her once more. Her mother had made a habit of adopting stray black cats; to her they were all avatars of the goddess, Bast, and many of them were as willful as a deity. But she loved them, and always wanted to pet them. And they always ran from her little grasping hands.

I took one of the flowers from my bouquet and slipped it into her hair. It looked like a ruby against shimmering silver as it stuck out of her ponytail. When she looked up at me, her eyes shimmered like blue sapphires through the unshed tears. I rubbed my hand against her soft cheek.

"Don't worry, my sweetheart. Remember, you are a dragon. And dragons can be quite fearsome to other creatures." I explained—not for the first time.

"Even Goddesses?" she asked, sniffling. I chuckled.

"Yes. Even Goddesses."

She sniffled again and rubbed her nose with the back of her dirty hand. It left a streak of black against her alabaster skin. I picked her up again, squeezing her tiny body against my chest.

"Come on, my little dragon. Let's go inside and get you cleaned up." I whispered, feeling my heart expand with the infinite love I had for the little girl.


	2. Chapter 2

I was woken up by the feeling of pins and needles in my arm as it fell asleep. The small girl's weight against my shoulder had pinched the nerve, but she was fast asleep, her face a smooth mask of dreams when I looked at her. A strand of her snow white hair had fallen over her cheek. It shimmered a silvery blue in the flickering light of the infomercial now airing on the television as I pushed it from her face and over her shoulder. My hand covered the entire side of her tiny face as I laid it against her cheek. A small sigh escaped her lips as my hand slid over her small head. She tightened her grip on my neck. I had never imagined that someone so small could be so strong. Her death grip nearly choked me as I worked to free my arm from beneath her small sleeping form. She slipped further between me and the back of the couch where we had passed out watching a documentary. She should not have been up with me, but she had wandered into the room, crying that she had had a nightmare and I had not had the heart to send her to back to bed alone. I had told myself that I would put her to bed again after just a few cuddles. After all, her mother had fought hard to get her to sleep once already. And it had been an especially difficult fight since I had not gotten home early enough to spend our usual playtime together.

I had heard the crying and her mother's frustrated voice the moment I had walked through the door. The guilt at being late ate at me as I tried to wind down for the day. Once the crying and yelling had stopped, I peeked in on her. She was sleeping peacefully then, her small hand stretched out to her mother's arm. I could not help but smile as I watched the two most precious women in my life sleeping. Despite everything they put each other through, I thought they were both beautiful. I slid the tiny hand from my lover's arm and tucked it beneath the blanket. Her mother stirred and looked up at me with her big loving eyes. I kissed the top of her head before telling her that she should get to bed. She laid her dark head against my chest for a moment, her arms snaking around my waist and squeezing me close to her. I nodded as she whispered to me to not stay up too late before she sauntered off to bed herself. I stood there for a moment, as I often found myself doing, watching the four year old sleep peacefully. Everything she did amazed me. Her existence amazed me. It blew my mind to think that I had a hand in her creation. After watching for a long moment, I pulled the door closed behind me.

It was unlike her to wake in the middle of the night, but on the rare instances that she did, she always managed to find me. It was no surprise that she sought me out tonight with tears streaming down her cheeks as she complained about a monster in her room. She always looked for me when she was scared or felt bad, or when she wanted something. She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes as she walked up to me and crawled into my lap. These times hit me the hardest. She was usually so tough and strong—like the little dragon she was, but when she cried, I melted. For the longest time, Mokuba had been my weakness, but now even he admitted that it was her. Her little tears were like acid on my heart. She slowly stopped crying as I held her and before long, she had fallen back to sleep. I followed quickly, or I must have as I do not remember much after she crawled into my lap.

She sprawled on the couch as much as her small form could as I stood and stretched. I bent over and scooped her up, propping her on my hip as I had when she was much smaller. Her blue eyes fluttered open briefly before she settled her head on my shoulder and fell back to sleep.

"You are getting heavy, baby girl." I muttered to her, shifting her weight on my hip as I carried her upstairs and to the small bed in her room. She curled into a small ball as I laid her down and pulled the blanket over her once more. She had thankfully stated asleep through the entire move, but she turned over once more and her hair fell over her face again.

"You have always been there to protect me." I said, brushing the silvery strands from her face. "Across time, across space. You've even saved me from myself, Kisara." I kissed her temple as she slept. "Now it's my turn to protect you, my little dragon."

* * *

A/N: This is entirely stream of consciousness style writing with very little editing, so please forgive any grammatical errors. I really want a happy ending for Seto, and I think he would make an excellent father once he got his own head on straight.


	3. Chapter 3

I stumbled, exhausted, into the kitchen. A place had been set at the bar with a note saying that dinner was in the fridge. I smiled as I peeked in and saw my favorite. It would have been better hot, but the extra hours I put in at the office today were well worth the effort and the exhaustion. I had had a late lunch, and my hunger had yet to catch up to me, despite the late hour. I walked into the den, choosing to acknowledge the kindness that had been done and to thank the perpetrators.

The television flashed with colorful light as children's cartoons danced on the screen. The light cast a faint glow on the toys scattered on the floor in front of the screen. I bent over to pick up the scattered playthings and toss them into the toy bucket that sat next to the wall sized monitor that served as a television.

"Hey, You." My lover stirred from her slumber and shifted beneath the weight of the small child. "You saw dinner?"

"Yes." I walked over to her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."

She smiled sleepily as she laid the little girl that had fallen asleep on her lap to the couch. She closed the book spread across her chest and placed it on the end table. The tiny, white haired girl curled into a tight ball, but did not awaken. We both let out a sigh of relief as she remained asleep. My lover stood and stretched her slight form before placing her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, remember?" Her hands slid over my chest and loosened my tie. Her gaze was expectant, demanding as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"Right." I had forgotten. I bent down to her as she stood on her tip toes and kissed the tip of her nose. She pressed her lips against mine hungrily. Time together had been rare since Kisara had been born. I pulled her against me, lifting her up slightly from the ground. I needed a moment to recover once I put her back down. She pulled away from my embrace and I felt a cold, emptiness where she had been.

"I'm going to take a shower." She walked up the stair, tossing a hungry look over her shoulder.

"I'll get her to bed," I said as I scooped up the sleeping four-year-old.

"Don't take too long." She smiled in invitation before she hurried up the staircase.

I placed our daughter in her little bed and pulled the cover over her small form. She was nearly Mokuba's age when our father died, but she looked so much more delicate than he had.

Her weakness was a lie, however. She was a dragon, fierce and determined. There was no doubt in my mind that she had inherited the spirit of my guardian angel, the woman for whom she had been named. She was supposed to be named Sakura or Emisu, after one of our late mothers, but that plan changed as soon as she entered this world with blazing blue eyes and hair so pale she looked bald. Her mother had made the decision on her own to honor the guardian spirit with the child's life.

I brushed her white hair, still marveling at the fact that I had produced this perfect little human, that I was responsible for making sure she turned out well. Even after four years, I still had moments when I could not believe that I was a father. It was never something that I had wanted. Frankly, I had been terrified. But I would not run from my responsibility, even if her conception had not exactly been planned. She was the beautiful jewel of my life, and I would do anything for her or her mother.

I could hear the shower in the master suite shut off as my lover finished.

I kissed our little girl quickly and closed the door softly behind me.

My lover giggled as I slipped my hands around her tiny waist and nibbled at her neck.

"Seto!" She turned in my arms and met me with a passionate kiss. It had been too long since she had kissed me with such ferocity. I lifted her naked body and she wrapped her legs around my waist. The journey to the bed was short and she squealed as I deposited her onto it. I pulled my tie off completely as she unbuttoned my shirt, all the while drawing me on top of her.

"I love you." My lips brushed against hers in a whisper kiss. I could feel the grin spread across her face beneath my lips.

"I love you, too."

She bit my lower lip in the way that drove me wild. I don't think I could have stopped the slight growl that escaped my throat even if I had wanted to. Before long, my clothing littered the floor near the bed and our hands were re-exploring familiar territory.

"Daddy?" A small voice whimpered outside the locked door.

I buried my head against my lover's neck.

"Fuck," I whispered.

"Apparently not tonight…" my lover traced circles along my spine teasingly. "Want me to…?"

"No. I'll do it." I kissed her fully on the mouth, returning the nip she gave my lower lip before crawling off of the bed to pull on some pants.

"What is it, my little dragon?" I crouched down to look into her brilliant, tear-filled eyes.

"Scared, Daddy." She threw her skinny arms around my neck. I pulled her close to comfort her.

"Oh? What scared you?"

"The shadows."

"Oh. I know shadows can be big and scary, but they aren't as bad as they seem." I lifted her up and carried her back to her room. She trembled against my chest. Her tears, shed now that she felt safe, were hot against my shoulder.

"Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" I laid her down in her bed again. She gripped my hand tightly and nodded. Her blue eyes were wide with fear.

"Stay, Daddy."

I crawled into the narrow bed with her and she cuddled close. Before long, she had passed out once more.

After extracting myself from the death grip Kisara had on my finger, I returned to my bed and lover once more. The meal cooling in the refrigerator flitted through my tired mine, but I was too exhausted to eat it at the moment. My lover lay curled up on one side, the blanket pulled over and tucked all around her like a cocoon or nest. I laid down next to her and wrapped my arm around what looked like it could be her waist.

"Wake me up before you get out of bed tomorrow."

I settled next to her, relishing her presence as I finally surrendered to exhaustion.

* * *

AN: So a little different perspective here. Anyone who actually has children will have likely experienced this...


End file.
